Sailing into Phuket Kings Cup
The King’s Cup Regatta is one of Phuket’s famous international yachting events, every year yachts from South East Asia set sail and make the passage to the Kata Bay for the first week of December. The regatta was inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of the King of Thailand and attracts recreational and professional sailors from all around the world.
Many yachts participate in regattas around Asia and will relocate their vessels from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong or even Australia to the scenic Kata bay in Phuket for the annual event. International race crews are assembled for the 5 days of racing, parties and comradery culminating with the awards ceremony on the Saturday at the Beyond Kata Resort & Spa.
With over 2000 crew The Kings Cup is on the Asian Yachting Grand Prix circuit with all types of yachts from IRC 0 – IRC 3 to Multi Hull racing, Monohull and multihull cruising divisions and classic divisions. Racing is split into different divisions to reflect yachts age, IRC rating, cruising or racing and courses are separated to reflect this.
There is an after race party each day in various high end Hotels with excellent food and of course alcohol and music, this is included in the price of the crew ticket although some sailors do not make it that far due to watering holes on Kata Beach where yachties gather to spin stories of bad luck, good fortune or great sailing skill.
Interested in sailing at this year’s event ? Check out the official website for Phuket Kings Cup. www.kingscup.com